Detachable shields for application to the end portions of channel shaped metal curtain rods



Dec. 27, 1955 J- R. GUILDFORD HIELDS CHANNEL DETACHABLE S FORAPPLICATION TO THE END PORTIONS OF SHAPED METAL CURTAIN RODS Filed Nov.18, 1953 ILVVE NTOR. Jose p12 18. Lzuljdfim A T TORN E Y.

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DETACHABLE SHIELDS FUR APPLICATION TO 5 THE END PGRTlO'NS (1F CHANNELSHAPED METAL CURTAIN RODS This invention relates to improvements inshields for detachable application to the end portions of conventionalchannel shaped metal curtain rods to facilitate the threading of the rodthrough the hem of a curtain and to prevent the ends of the rod fromtearing the curtain. Specifically the invention is an improvement uponthe device of my prior Patent No. 2,204,411 of June ll, 1940.

The conventional channel shaped metal curtain rod has a fiat side walland opposed upper and lower walls integral with and projecting laterallyfrom the side wall, the upper and lower walls being of generallysemi-circular cross section and providing co-planar flanges whichoverhang the side wall and are in spaced confronting relation. Thecurtain rods are of substantially the same size in respect to theirvertical dimension but are of varying sizes in rcspect to theirtransverse dimension, i. e. the dimension measured between theoverhanging flanges and the side wall. The variations with respect tothe transverse dimension are within a range from a minimum size to amaximum size in which the transverse dimension is substantially twicethat of the minimum size.

Both for facility in threading the rod through the hem of the curtainand for the complete protection of the curtain the shield of theinvention is fitted over the leading end portion of the curtain rod (astaught by my prior patent). Thereby the shield may be shaped tofacilitate its introduction into and movement through the hem and, asapplied to the leading end of the curtain rod, will present smoothregular surfaces, the shield completely confining the end portions ofthe rod and insuring the complete protection of the curtain materialagainst being cut or torn when the rod is threaded through the hem.

As compared with my prior construction the principal object of theinvention is to provide a shield which may be made in a single standardsize and securely fitted upon any curtain rod within the full range ofsizes, i. e. sizes from the minimum to the maximum transverse dimension.A further object is a complete utilization of the resilient propertiesof the material from which the shield is made for insuring the securityof its application upon the end portion of the curtain rod while at thesame time promot ing facility of such application and facility in itsremoval from the rod when the latter has been completely threadedthrough the hem of the curtain.

Generally speaking, the invention consists of a cup like shield to fitover the end portion of a curtain rod and which is composed of materialhaving a substantial measure of resilience, is fashioned with anexpansible mouth in which the end portion of the curtain rod may beinserted and utilizes a securing spring-like finger which extends to theopen mouth of the shield and is in coopcr- 5 ative relation with theside walls of the shield in establishing the secure frictionalengagement of the shield with the surfaces of the enclosed portions ofthe curtain rod.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shield in accordance with theinvention in its unmounted condition.

2,728,500 Patented Dec. 27, 1955 ice Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are endelevations of curtain rods of different sizes in respect to theirtransverse dimension and covering the range from the standard minimumsize to the standard maximum size.

Figure 6 is a plan view showing the shield fitted upon the leading endof a curtain rod which is assumed to be the rod shown in Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a shield as fitted upon the same curtainrod.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 8-3 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view showing the shield fitted uponthe leading end of a curtain rod which is assumed to be the rod shown inFigure 2.

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional View of the shield fitted upon theleading end of a curtain rod which is assumed to be the rod shown inFigure 4.

Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view or" the shield fitted upon theleading end or a curtain rod which is assumed to be the rod shown inFigure 5.

The curtain rods shown in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in each instance have aflat vertical wall A and upper and lower opposed side walls B projectinglaterally from the wall A and of general semi-circular cross section,thereby to provide coplanar flanges C which overhang the wall A anddelimit a longitudinal slot D extending from end to end of the rod.

The shield is shown in its unmounted condition in Figure 1 and is ofgeneral O-Shape cross section in conformity to the cross section of thecurtain rod upon which it is to be fitted. The shield in its unmountedcondition is characterized by spaced vertical walls 1 and 1a insubstantially parallel planes, upper and lower walls 2 of generalsemi-circular cross sectional outline and opposite curvature with theirconvex faces presented outwardly and their concave faces presentedinwardly and a closed outer or leading end wall 3 integrally connectedto the walls 1, la and 2 and which presents a surface 4having agenerally semi-circular peripheral curvature and a suitable transversecurvature, the vertical side faces of the wall 3 tapering suitablytoward the peripheral surface. T he opposite or inner end 5 of theshield is open. The wall in carries a finger s in the nature of a leafspring which has a length of the order of half of the length of theshield, is normally two-planar with the other parts of the wall in andis integrally connected to the wall, being delimited by upper and lowerlongitudinal, and substantially parallel, slits '7 of suitable lengthwhich extend to the inner end of the wall la. The upper and lower walls2 are interrupted by centrally located longitudinal slits 8 of suitablelength which extend preferably from points at or near the inner ends ofthe Walls 2 to their outer ends and in the unmounted condition of theshield have their walls in substantially parallel relation.

The shield, constructed as above described, may be composed of anymaterial having a suitable degree of resilience. its form andconstruction lends itself to manufacture from an ideal material, namelya suitable thermolastic, which by the practice of any suitable standardprocess of molding involves minimum manufacturing expense. Excellentresults have been obtained by the use of polystyrene.

Curtain rods of the form described as currently on the market usuallycome in the four sizes schematically indicated in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5,the rod W of Figure 2 having the minimum transverse dimension, and therods X, Y and Z of Figures 3, 4 and 5 respectively being the sizes ofsuccessively greater transverse dimensions.

The shield of the invention is available for use with curtain rods ofany of these four sizes. It has this availability because the slits 7and S extend to the inner end of the shield and thereby invest the mouth5 with expansible and contractile qualities in which the resilientproperty of the material of which the shield is composed cause thecontraction and is utilized to the fullest extent in effecting thesecurity of the application of the shield upon the leading end of acurtain rod and the facility of such application and of the removal ofthe shield. The maximum contraction of the shield is in its unmountedcondition (Figure l) in which the walls 1 and 1a are in parallel planesand the finger 6 is coplanar with the parts of the wall 1a.

In the unmounted condition of the shield the opening provided by themouth 5 is preferably very slightly greater in dimensions than the crosssection of the curtain rod X (Figure 3). The application of the shieldto the rod X is shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8. In applying the shield tothe rod X the finger 6 is first manually depressed or pushed inwardtoward the wall 1, yielding along its transverse line of junction withthe wall In. The shield is thereupon held in alinement with the rod Xand the leading end portion of the rod is inserted into the mouth 5 withthe side wall A of the rod under the depressed finger 6. The insertionof the rod into the shield is continued until its further inwardmovement is arrested by the finger 6, the shield thereupon beingsecurely fitted on the rod as best shown in Figure 8.

In the insertion of the end portion of the rod into the shield the wallA of the rod continues the inward depression of the finger 6, storingpower in the finger in its capacity as a leaf spring. The wedging of therod wall A between the finger 6 and the parts of the shield wall 1::results in a very slight outward flare of the walls of the slits 8, theparts of the shield wall 1a being very slightly canted outwardly fromthe rod side wall A and the flanges C of the rod being pressed intosubstantially uniform frictional contact with the inner face of theshield wall 1. The flare of the walls of the slits 8 and the canting ofthe parts of the shield wall 1a are so slight that their illustration inFigure 8 is not practical. At this time the finger 6 at its line ofengagement with the rod wall A exerts frictional securing pressureagainst that area of the inner face of the wall A with which it is incontact. The shield is thereby securely fitted upon the rod X as afunctional and temporary extension thereof, the shield in this relationbeing readily introduced into the hem of the curtain whereby the rod Xmay be freely inserted through the hem and any liability of tearing orcutting the material of the curtain is eliminated. When the rod has beencompletely threaded through the hem the shield will project beyond thehem and may readily be removed from the rod by pulling it outward, theshield parts thereupon contracting into their normal relation as shownin Figure l and the shield thereupon being available for use withanother curtain rod. 1

The application of the shield to the rod W is shown in Figure 9. The rodW is of minimum transverse dimension and its cross sectional area istherefore sensibly less than the area of the open mouth 5 of the shield.in this instance the finger 6 is initially manually dcpressed and by thepressure which it exerts upon the inner face of the wall W at theleading end thereof when the rod has been inserted into the shield untilits movement is arrested causes the outer face of the wall W at itsleading end to bear with substantial pressure against the parts of thewall in above and below the finger 6 and at the same time causes thecanting of the shield relatively to the rod W whereby the outer faces ofthe flanges C bear frictionally against the inner face of the shieldwall 1 adjacent the mouth 5. As a result the shield is held securelyupon the leading end portion of the rod W. The hem of the curtain is ofsuch dimensions that the shield, notwithstanding its canted relation tothe rod W, may be freely inserted into and moved through the hem.

The application of the shield to the rod Y is shown in Figure 10. Thecross sectional dimension of the rod Y is somewhat greater than thecross sectional dimension of the mouth 5 of the shield in the unmountedcondition of the shield as shown in Figure 1. In this instance infitting the shield upon the end portion of the rod Y the finger 6 isheld depressed as above described and the shield is held in a cantedposition relative to the rod Y, that is to say, a position in which theshield wall 1 extends at an obtuse angle relatively to the rod Y. Withthe shield held in such canted position the leading edge portion of therod wall A is inserted into the mouth 5 under the finger 6 and the endportion of the rod wall A is pressed manually against the shield wall1a, thereby to flex the wall 1a away from the opposing shield wall 1.The end portion of the rod may thereupon be introduced through theopening 5, the shield in respect to the facility of such introductiontaking advantage of the standard curvature of the leading end edges B1of the rod side walls B. As in the previous examples the end portion ofthe rod is pushed into the shield until its movement is arrested. Atsuch time the spring finger 6 will hold the rod wall A in substantiallyuniform contact with the parts of shield wall 1a above and below thefinger 6; the walls 1 and 1a will be sprung outward relatively to oneanother, the slits 8 permitting this action and flaring toward the mouthof the shield; the shield wall 1 will be canted slightly relatively tothe faces of the flanges C; and the end portions of the flanges C willbear frictionally against the inner face of the shield wall 1. Therebythe shield is held securely upon the leading end portion of the rod Y.

The application of the shield to the rod Z is shown in Figure ll and iseffected in the same manner as the application of the shield to the rodY. The cross sectional dimension of the rod Z is substantially twice thecross sectional dimension of the rod W and is substantially greater thanthe cross sectional dimension of the mouth 5 of the shield. Neverthelessthe shield may be readily fitted upon the rod without risk of rupture orof springing its parts beyond their elastic limit. The shield wall 1 iscanted relatively to the flanges C, the slits S permitting this actionand flaring toward the mouth of the shield to a greater degree than inthe case where the shield is fitted upon the end portion of the rod Y.

In the foregoing description and in the following claim words signifyingdirection or position such as vertical, upper, lower, lateral andtransverse are used as a matter of convenience with reference to thepositions of the parts as shown in the drawing.

I claim:

A cup-like shield to be fitted upon the leading end portion of aconventional channel shaped metal curtain rod and of a cross sectionaloutline which conforms to the cross sectional outline of the rod, theshield being composed of a material having a degree of resiliency suchthat as fitted upon the curtain rod it will be held securely in positionby frictional engagement with the adjacent faces of the leading endportion of the rod, the shield comprising spaced vertical walls, upperand lower walls integral with and extending between the vertical wallsand being of general and opposite semi-circular cross sectional outlinewith their convex faces presented outwardly and their concave facespresented inwardly, and a closed leading end wall integrally connectedto the vertical, upper and lower walls and presenting a suitably curvedleading surface, the vertical walls adjoining the vertical faces of therod when the shield is fitted upon the rod, the shield having its endremote from the end wall open and of substantially O-shaped crosssectional outline, one of the vertical walls having substantiallyparallel upper and lower slits in suitably spaced relation which extendto the open end of the shield and delimit a finger which has a length ofthe order of half of the length of the shield and is in the nature of aleaf spring normally co-planar with the other parts of said verticalwall, the upper and lower walls being interrupted by centrally locatedlongitudinal slits shield is effected and the finger being manuallydepresswhich extend from points at or near the inner ends of said ibletoward the opposite vertical wall. upper and lower walls to their outerends at the open end of the shield, the said open end providing a mouthCited in the file of this Patent which by virtue of the slits in theupper and lower walls 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS of the shield isexpansible and contractile, the vertical walls of the shield in itsunmounted condition and due to ggzf a1 "M the resiliency of the materialof which the shield is com- 411 Guildfor June 1940 posed assumingpositions in substantially parallel planes 2511762 Barnett June 1 1950in which the maximum contraction of the mouth of the 10

